Richard Cleveland (1773-1860) was a Massachusetts sailor, shipowner, and trader, who sailed many times around the world and helped to establish a number of important early trading industries. His accounts of his voyages and the people and places he encountered is fasciniating reading for anyone interested in this important period in American maritime history. This a complete and unabridged reprint of the 1850 original book, with additional informative footnotes added by editor Brian K. Crawford.